Philips’ New Eco-TV Uses Only 75 Watts

This new 42-inch LCD "Eco TV" by Philips was announced at CES 2008 (Consumer Electronics Show). The television certainly has a lot of energy saving features that make it possibly the most efficient TV on the market. CNET reports:

[The TV] has the ability to dim the backlight–by up to five times peak brightness–in response to program material…Dimming the backlight in darker scenes has the dual benefit of saving power and improving black-level performance, according to the company. The backlight can also be dimmed via a room lighting sensor, so in dark rooms it will use less power. There’s also traditional a "power-saving" mode that caps the peak light output

With this trifecta engaged, we saw the panel’s power consumption dip to an impressive 75 watts during the in-booth demo–Philips had hooked up a Watt’s Up to track consumption. That’s a bit more than a standard incandescent light bulb and 30 watts less than the most miserly 42-inch LCD we’ve tested ourselves so far, Philips’ own 42FL7432D measured after calibration (more info). The Eco TV’s standby power is also less than 0.15 watt according to the company, also among the best we’ve seen. According to the company, when all of these features are enabled the television consumes only 75 watts of power. Philips used a Kill-A-Watt device hooked to the LCD to show journalists it wasn’t just blowing green PR smoke.

The television also features a stand-by power mode that consumers less than 0.15 watts. It also has lead-free materials and only "trace" amounts of mercury, which enables it to comply with strict ROHS and State of Vermont standards, respectively. It comes in a box made of recycled material.

The television is due to be released in March, and priced at around $1400.